Hi there, yes, you are reading this right! Starting from today’s Tokyo E-Prix, I will be releasing a “Winners and Losers of” article for every single Formula E Race that takes place in 2024 and beyond! I’m really excited about this, so I hope you’ll enjoy it too!
Winner: Maximilian Gunther
Could we really start with anyone else?! Maximilian Gunther has shown decent pace at the start of Season 10, but he maybe hasn’t always been in the position to show it. However, despite losing a place to Edoardo Mortara at the start of the E-Prix, Max Gunther kept his calm, eventually repassing Mortara for second place before he took the lead from Oliver Rowland after Rowland moved out of the way. However, don’t let that fool you from Gunther’s impressive drive as he still had to build enough of a gap to take Attack Mode and come out still ahead. Bravo Maximilian!
Loser: Mitch Evans
It’s safe to say that Formula E’s first trip to Tokyo is one Mitch Evans would like to forget in a hurry. After showing strong pace in Practice (especially P2 where he topped the session), Mitch only made it into the Duels due to his teammate Nick Cassidy being demoted before Evans hit the wall at Turn 9 which ultimately cost him a shot of beating Oliver Rowland into the Semi-Final stage. Moving onto the Race, Mitch was doing okay up until the point where he out-broke himself trying to overtake Sergio Sette Camara and ultimately damaged his front wing with contact on Envision’s Robin Frijns. So yeah, not a great weekend for the Kiwi, and it’s safe to say that Mitch Evans won’t be happy with being 6th in the Championship.
Winners: Oliver Rowland and Jake Dennis
When Maximilian Gunther was claiming his trophy on the top step of the Podium, it was Nissan’s Oliver Rowland and Andretti’s Jake Dennis who were standing on either side. For Oliver Rowland, he secured his second Julius Baer Pole Position award earlier in the day, and even though he may have made a slight error in judgment which cost him the Race win, it’s still 3 Podiums on the spin which is a very impressive run for someone that got dropped midway through last season. As for Jake Dennis, Jake drove a really calm and mature Race today, staying out of trouble and finding his way onto the Podium even when it looked a little unlikely at times. In fact actually, consistency wins Championships, and both Rowland and Dennis are arguably the two most consistent drivers in the FE field right now!
Losers: NEOM McLaren
At the end of Sao Paulo, NEOM McLaren were on top of the world as Sam Bird recorded their first-ever Formula E victory. Fast forward two weeks and things went bad in a hurry for the historic outfit. Both Sam Bird and Jake Hughes were not quick in Qualifying, finishing way off a spot in the Duels, and as for the Race, Jake found the wall at Turn 15 (even though that wasn’t fully his fault) whilst Sam finished a lap down (due to issues I presume). Whatever happened to McLaren this weekend, they need to make sure it doesn’t happen again, as today’s performances have seen them drop from 4th to 6th in the Teams’ Championship.
Winners: Porsche Powertrains
Whilst it might not have been NEOM McLaren’s day, it was a very good day for the teams and drivers that use the Porsche Powertrains! Firstly, the main team Tag Heuer Porsche did well to come home in P4 and P5, with Antonio Felix da Costa heading Pascal Wehrlein. Whilst Porsche looked on for bigger points at one stage of the Race, 22 points is still worth celebrating. In terms of the other Porsche-powered cars, they would belong to the Andretti’s of Jake Dennis and Norman Nato. As we already know, Jake was able to secure a great Podium for his team whilst Norman Nato was also able to come across the line in 6th, meaning the Porsche-powered cars scored a total of 45 points which isn’t half-bad for the new Manufacturers Cup!
Loser: Jehan Daruvala
Whilst Edoardo Mortara’s post-race Disqualification meant that Mahindra were a very good shout to be on this list, I think Jehan Daruvala’s weekend was far worse! Jehan didn’t have a great Qualifying meaning he started P17 on the Grid, and that’s ultimately where he finished, with only Dan Ticktum and Sam Bird behind him on the road. Of course, that’s not good anyway, but it’s definitely made even worse by the fact that Daruvala’s Maserati MSG teammate Max Gunther won the Race! Of course, you do have to mention the fact that Jehan is the only Rookie on the Grid so it’s always going to take time to learn, let alone in Formula E. However, Jehan Daruvala cannot be this far away for too much longer as it’s going to really start costing Maserati big time!
Winner: Nico Muller
And finally, let’s end this article on a positive note by talking about ABT CUPRA’s Nico Muller! Nico definitely hasn’t had the best of times since aligning with the returning ABT in Season 9, scoring just 15 in 20 Races. However, today was a very strong day for Muller as not only did he show great pace to qualify up in P7, but he managed to keep his nose clean and show good pace to bring his car home in exactly the same position, meaning he picked up a massive 6 points for the CUPRA team. I very much expect Nico Muller’s drive to go well under the radar, and that’s a shame because it was a terrific drive and result!
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